A typical valve with more than two ports consists of a passageway formed through a rotating bushing connecting one port to another. The rotating bushing within the valve also acts as the seal to prevent leakage between other ports. However when it is desired to have fluid media pass to more than two ports, typical designs provide a rotating bushing with several passageways therethrough to meet this need. Typical low pressure or low volume stop cock or plug valve designs consist of a press fit bushing or plug housed inside a molded body with two to four fluid entry or exit ports. Lubricants are infrequently used, but sometimes are required to aid in ease of rotation of the plug. In some applications fluid media passing through the stop cock cannot be contaminated by lubricants or other external fluids. However many current designs for such multiple port plugs cannot be used for such an application due to the high force required to rotate the plug.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.